Hanoi, January 28 (VNA) – The Ministry of Home Affairs has released a draft decree stipulating that the minimum wage for cadres, civil servants, public employees and those working in the armed forces will go up on May 1, 2016.

The draft decree, open for feedback, specifies that the monthly minimum wage for the targeted group will be increased from 1.15 million VND (nearly 51.9 USD) to 1.21 million VND (nearly 52.3 USD).

The ministry said those targeted have encountered an array of difficulties with the existing minimum wage, and the new level will help improve their living standards.

The increase was decided in a resolution on the 2016 State budget estimates issued by the National Assembly on November 11, 2015.

The resolution tasked the Government with increasing the minimum wage for State employees and the armed forces by 5 percent to 1.21 million VND per month.

Regional minimum wages also went up by an average of 12.4 percent on January 1 this year, ranging from 2.4 million VND (105.6 USD) to 3.5 million VND (155.6 USD) per month in the four different regions.

This applied to workers in businesses, cooperatives, farms, households, individuals and organisations that employ workers under labour contracts.